Pat Perry: Bring some March Madness to your business

Pat One of my favorite times of year is March when the college basketball tournament is held and leads to the NCAA Division 1 national championship.
The caliber of play, the intensity, and the upsets are exhilarating. And, that’s just the office pools!
The actual tournament is a hoot, and an annual ritual along with the Cleveland Indians’ Opening Day, signals that spring has arrived.
During the tournament, we witness competition at its best. Coaches and players take their game to a higher level, showcasing that once again top talent and leadership always prevail.
In the spirit of the “insanity” that takes place in March relative to the college tourney, perhaps a little “madness” at work can go a long way to taking quantum leaps in the success of your business. Steve Jobs and Apple coined the phrase “Think Different.”
Yet, when we take a look at how many businesses attempt to attract and retain top performing employees, it appears that the “This Is The Way We’ve Always Done It” approach rules.
So, if you struggle with finding really good people, consider some of these “crazy” ideas:
-- No more five-day workweek — If you ask most top performing employees, they will tell you that the traditional five-day workweek with eight-hour days is an archaic concept. They love flexible schedules/hours and focus on productivity and results rather than watching the clock.
This is a tough change for so many corporate leaders. You may believe that unless people are putting in eight-to-10-hour days at least five days a week, you are not getting all you can out of your workforce.
The truth is that if you have the right people on staff, schedules and hours become irrelevant.
Top performers produce, stay loyal to you and encourage other top people they know to join your team.
-- Women rule! — Sorry guys, but our track record is not that good. If you still have a bunch of guys running the place, it may be time to re-assess your approach on who is helping you run your business.
Diversifying your leadership team can make a huge and positive difference in your company.
If you have a glass ceiling, the best thing you can do for your business is smash it to pieces.
-- Read your handbook — When is the last time you read every page of your company’s employee handbook?
Unfortunately, these handbooks are viewed as “necessary evils,” and only come out if employment litigation occurs. If it has been awhile since you read through the employee manual, consider having you and your leadership team read through the book. See if it accurately reflects your current thinking and reflects the types of policies and guidelines that increase the probability of attracting and retaining great people.
-- Family before customers — For some executives, this is really a tough one to swallow. It was ground into our heads since business school that the customer is No. 1, and that they are always right.
Well, as crazy as this may sound, customers can come second to your employees’ family needs and the customer is not always right.
The research shows that top performers gravitate to “family first” companies. I can tell you from experience that is true. Ironically, when you put employee families first and attract and retain top people, they provide “wow” customer service that leaves your competition in the dust.
-- Slow your business growth — Believe it or not, many of your employees may not be as excited as you are if your company is growing too fast.
When growth is king and the “end all,” many employees just end up with more work and little, if any, pay improvements.
To them, a fast rate of growth in the company may not be good news.
Feeding the growth “monster” can be a challenge for any business, and for your employees, their life outside of work may be negatively affected. If that effect continues too long, you may lose the people that actually got you to be successful.
Alternatively, focusing on a service versus a sales business model, has the potential to provide sustained and manageable growth in the short and long term.
The world has changed and continues to evolve at a dizzying rate. Now more than ever it is critical to let go of traditional management and business practices/programs that may be holding your company back.
It’s a tough leap of faith for some, while others have learned that re-imagining their business practices and talent management is no longer an option.
I am sure you have ideas that some would consider madness. Your peers may laugh at your ideas.
Most likely, those ideas are the ones that might not only support your continued business success but may change an industry.
If you still have a box to think outside of, toss it aside and expand your mind. Be open to new possibilities and set a course that is truly bracket busting!

Pat Perry is the president of ERC (www.yourERC.com), a Northeast Ohio-based human resources organization that assists companies with HR services, compensation surveys, health insurance (www.ERChealth.com) and hosts the NorthCoast 99 program (www.NorthCoast99.org).